At introduction, the 2014 Jeep Cherokee met a firestorm of rank-in-file enthusiast controversy over its styling as well as its car based platform architecture. With most models of the Cherokee seeming soft and suburbanite, the Trailhawk flexes its muscles and looks more the part of a true Jeep in the traditional sense.
It’s dimensions are actually larger by an inch in wheelbase, track and body width and it rides nearly an inch higher off the ground than the standard Cherokee. To project its off-road cred, it get larger wheel flares to cover its wider 17” wheels all-terrain tires.
The extra bulk and black hood graphic do go a long way to adding some manhood to the overall presentation as do the lower skid plates and red tow hooks. And, the coveted Trail Rated badge is prominently displayed high on the front fenders.
Before getting it dirty time was spent getting to know the interior which on our tester had the rather interesting color combination of Jeep Brown with red accent stitching. And it’s not just the seats, the door panels, console and dash were all deep brown with the red accents.
The color scheme along with a rather seventies vibe wood-grain trim wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but there is a black and red color combination available.
The seats themselves are exceptionally comfortable, the driver seat getting an 8-way power adjustment in ours with the Comfort and Convenience Group. Also optioned was the Leather Interior group which heated the leather seats and the Jeep Brown steering wheel.
The wheel has controls for audio, trip computer and the Uconnect functions of the infotainment system. The optional touch-screen navigation and premium audio system offering a full suite of connectivity options, linked services and a variety of auxiliary inputs.
The console has a perfect cubby for your smart phone or other device adjacent to the bank of plugs too. Neat was the handy hidden storage area underneath the passenger seat cushion which would be perfect for either a Glock or even some handi-wipes for the kids.
Rear seat passengers will enjoy plenty of room and adjustability with fore and aft sliding adjustments and seat-back recline. They fold 60/40 too for increased cargo space out back. That rear cargo hold is generously sized and offers additional storage underneath the load floor for smaller gear.
Some areas of the interior still need work, predominantly material quality and structural robustness. Door pulls were loose and flimsy, a surprise in any vehicle these days let alone one that costs $34,000. The design and layout is well done however.
The first place I took the Trailhawk was out to the desert mud hole, where I kind of just had some fun to get the feel of its suspension, traction and crawling abilities. Like any kid at heart this meant splashing through the mud marvelously for the first 10-15 minutes before actually getting to anything remotely academic.
The increased ground clearance and the more terrain friendly approach angles of the Trailhawk made child’s play of our test course which has lots of little hills and moguls that challenge many car-based crossovers I bring out here.
Cherokee offers up its top line all-wheel drive system which has a full low range four-wheel drive mode. A terrain select knob rests on the console which also offers several traction modes for various surface types. Most important for rock crawling and other more hard-core off-roading.
The console mounted control knob for the terrain select system activates the four-wheel drive low and rear-locker which gives you unprecedented traction capability in this class. With the 56:1 crawl ratio and aggressive program enabled it was time for our one wheel up and one wheel down test.
Here one of the front wheels is in the air while the opposite side rear is also free of traction, a test that leaves many of its competitors tottering helplessly. Here, the Trailhawk just mozied on through it like nothing at all. Nice.
Experimenting with some of the other terrain modes on various spots in our off-road test zone, the downhill descent control, and hill start assist I found that it was pretty difficult to get the Trailhawk crossed up and in need of using those red hooks.
On the more mild back trails at speed, the Cherokee continued to offer up the very kind of capability and adventure the brand has always stood for, the suspension taking shocks of deep ruts and washes with reasonable poise.
Out on the washboard roads the Cherokee’s body structure was rigid and well isolated from the vibrations of the surface. Doors didn’t rattle in their jambs, no dash dancing. The steering however rattled over the rougher ruts and bumps, a disappointment for a Jeep.
The non-speed automatic transmission proved to get attention whether on the back-roads or on the pavement. It offers up jerky slow speed shifts, abrupt changes in mood, an a distinct unwillingness to downshift at highway speeds. It has been known for its need of tuning improvement since launch, and still needs some attention in my opinion.
Mated to the nine-speed automatic transmission in our Cherokee was the base 2.4 liter 184 horsepower Tigershark engine. This is an evolution of the 2.4 liter World Engine that has been part of Chrysler products for years, now with better breathing and more refinement.
Power from the base four is adequate in moving the 4,000 plus pound Cherokee around. At city stop and go speeds it actually has a bit of verve, but at highway speeds is a bit less willing. You can option the 3.2 liter V6 which solves all that if power is your hot button however.
The EPA rates the 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk at 21 mpg city, 27 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined. In our week with it, we indeed saw 27 mpg freeway stints with our tank average coming in at 23.5 mpg.
